From the moment he made the infamous 2006 proclamation that he wouldn't leave the Miami Dolphins for Alabama, the public has been conditioned not to trust coaches when they're asked about changing jobs. Denials are parsed. Answers (or non-answers) are analyzed. Even contract extensions are dismissed these days as flimsy enough to rip up the moment something better comes along.

Saban's about-face on Alabama didn't just taint him; it affected the entire profession. No matter what a coach says or does these days, they are almost all painted as eager job-hoppers, ready to pick up and move the moment a perceived "better" gig comes open.

"It's the nature of the business, it's what it is, and that's why I don't comment," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "Like I say, I'm happy in the job I have, I have a great job, I love being where I'm at, and we'll be here because no matter what I say or anybody says, your guys are going to write what you want. And I don't mean that as disrespect to you, that's your job, that's your job to create news. I understand that."

He sure does.

No matter what Fisher could have said, done or signed in the past month, it wouldn't have stopped the speculation that he would end up replacing Mack Brown at Texas – speculation, by the way, that won't die completely until Charlie Strong or whomever is wearing burnt orange behind a podium in Austin.

But the fascination with Fisher's future, his contract status, his carefully-worded denials – call it the "Saban Syndrome" – has overshadowed a much more relevant comparison.

It's a little harder to see on the surface, what with Fisher's folksy charm in place of Saban's Darth Vader mask and Fisher's expansive thoughts on nearly every topic compared to Saban's endless annoyance with life's more trivial matters. But underneath the surface, where it really counts, college football should be just as afraid of Saban's fellow West Virginia native and just as leery of the monster program he's built.

Texas? Who cares about Texas when Fisher has Florida State on the cusp of becoming the next Alabama?

"Great teams can come and go, but programs reload every year and can come back every year," Fisher said. "That's what I was very interested in building, a team that was comprehensive, that can withstand different things that happen and be able to reload each year."

Sound familiar?

Though Fisher bristles at the suggestion that he has built Florida State in the image of any program or conference, few have as good an understanding of how Saban operates.

For five seasons at LSU, Fisher worked alongside him as offensive coordinator and then turned down an opportunity to re-join him at Alabama in 2007. His coaching staff includes three assistants who worked for Saban. And his program put a Saban-esque 11 players in last year's NFL Draft, only to come back with a better team this season. Florida State could lose as many as 14 players to the NFL this season and still come back in the fall as preseason No. 1.

What other program in America does that? Only Saban. Only Alabama.

"I think we believe the same things, but I don't know if our personalities (are the same). I enjoy being around Nick. I like talking to him," Fisher said. "I expected our program, in time, to be here. I knew what we could build. I think we're hitting things at full stride right now. I'm very comfortable where we're at."

Why wouldn't he be?

JIMBO FISHER NEWS CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

The Florida State Seminoles head coach talks before the BCS national championship game.

The early years of Fisher's tenure, when he was the unproven guy replacing a legend and the culture around Florida State needed major corrections, are long gone. The battle with Florida State's administration to put money into facilities and assistant coaching salaries has been won. And most of all, the talent is rolling in. When it's all said and done in February, the Seminoles will almost certainly sign their fourth top-five recruiting class in the past five years.

It's not too far off from the sequence of events that set Alabama's dynasty in motion in 2009 when Saban won the national title in his third year there after a prolonged period of mediocrity. If Florida State beats Auburn on Monday, it would have taken Fisher just four to do the same.

"We went through that dark area where people forgot about what this program was capable of," cornerback Lamarcus Joyner said.

And yet even with this season's reminder, the same sense of inevitability does not exist the way it did with Alabama once Saban got it rolling. At that moment, it became clear Alabama was going to figure heavily in every national title discussion for the foreseeable future.

Fisher doesn't inspire the same fear or divisiveness as Saban or even Urban Meyer, though all the evidence at the moment suggests he should. The only real difference is the wrapping paper.

Saban talks about the "process." Fisher talks about building the "organization" and the "infrastructure," which are basically code words for the same thing. Saban may have better things to do than entertain the "mediocre people," as he called them on 60 Minutes, while Fisher has no problem dishing up homilies and philosophies in his warp-speed West Virginia drawl – but in the end, he's every bit the recruiting shark and detail freak.

And just like Saban, who didn't need to run off to Texas or wherever else once he got every aspect in line at Alabama, Fisher is now set for his turn at the top.

"But if you stop, somebody passes you up," Fisher said. "You still have to have the forethought and you don't have to be sick to get better. You've got to continue to grow as an organization in things and have an administration and a school that understands that because as soon as you're either getting better or you're not. As soon as you quit getting better, people pass you by."

Sound like anyone you know?

COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHING CAROUSEL

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston kisses the trophy after defeating the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in the BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl. (Photo: Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports)

RB: Jeremy Hill, LSU. Beating Iowa in the Outback Bowl took everything Hill had. Good thing he was ready. Hill finished with 216 yards, the most Iowa had allowed against a running back since 2000. (Photo: Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports)

QB: Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M. In what was likely the final game of his superb college career, Manziel completed 30 of 38 pass attempts for 382 yards and four touchdowns and added 73 yards and a score on the ground in a Chick-fil-A Bowl victory. (Photo: Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports)

Texas A&M defensive back Toney Hurd Jr. (4) scampers into the end zone to complete a 55-yard interception return for a TD late in the fourth quarter. Hurd's score with 3:33 left put the Aggies on top for good. (Photo: Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports)

Arizona quarterback B.J. Denker (7) eludes a pair of Boston College defenders during the Advocare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La. Denker threw for two TDs and ran for another in the Wildcats' 42-19 win. (Photo: Crystal LoGiudice, USA TODAY Sports)

Texas Tech Red Raiders running back DeAndre Washington (21) is stopped short of the goal line against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first half in the Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. (Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports)

Kansas State Wildcats running back John Hubert runs the ball in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium. (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

Washington running back Bishop Sankey trots into the end zone for one of his two 11-yard TD runs. Sankey rushed for 95 yards and was named outstanding offensive player. (Photo: Ed Szczepanski, USA TODAY Sports)

Syracuse quarterback Terrel Hunt celebrates his go-ahead TD run with 1:14 left against Minnesota during the Texas Bowl in Houston. hunt's second score of the game gave the Orange a 21-17 come-from-behind win. (Photo: Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)

Marshal running back Essray Taliaferro celebrates his fourth-quarter TD run against Maryland in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md. Taliaferro's score put the Thudnering Herd ahead for good in a 31-20 victory. (Photo: Mitch Stringer, USA TODAY Sports)

Oregon State Beavers wide receiver Brandin Cooks (7) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against the Boise State Broncos in the 1st quarter of the 2013 Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium. (Photo: Marco Garcia, USA TODAY Sports)

East Carolina Pirates running back Vintavious Cooper (21) runs the ball in for a touchdown against the Ohio Bobcats during the second half at the 2013 Beef O Bradys Bowl at Tropicana Field. East Carolina won 37-20. (Photo: Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports)

Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson celebrates as running back Donnell Alexander scores a two point conversion against Washington State during the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)